And I’m Mickey Mouse…
Basem Naim, a senior official within Hamas’s political bureau, on Ed Miliband’s Israeli sanctions:
“The imposition of sanctions by Britain and other European countries and Canada on goods imported from the settlements of the occupied West Bank, and the London foreign minister’s use of the term ‘ethnic cleansing’ to describe the crimes of the settlers, are important steps in the right direction – but they are not enough.
“What is needed to achieve stability and peace in Palestine and beyond is the immediate implementation of the relevant international resolutions and the prosecution of war criminals in Israel in a manner similar to the Nazi trials at Nuremberg in Germany.”
There are also reports Iran is pleased with Miliband’s bright idea…
Ed Miliband has hit back this morning at the Chief Rabbi over criticism of his Israeli sanctions package announced yesterday. A day the Chief Rabbi described as “a dark day for Jews”…
Speaking on Sky News, Miliband said:
“I’m a proud British Jew, and I don’t agree with the Chief Rabbi.
“I have great respect for the chief rabbi, but I don’t agree with him, and I believe that it must be possible to do what we did yesterday, which is to stand up for British values of the rule of law, of dignity for people, of the prevention of injustice, and do so in a way, as I did yesterday, to say to anyone in our country who holds British Jews responsible for the actions of the Israeli government, that is antisemitism, pure and simple.”
Miliband then doubled down on the Today programme when asked directly if the Chief Rabbi was wrong: “Yes. I am saying I don’t agree with the Chief Rabbi, someone for whom I have great respect”…
The Jewish Leadership Council has published an icy statement in response to Ed Miliband’s sanctions on Israeli settlers:
“The government is simply yielding to pressure from the most extreme elements of British society. They will continue to push the government to take increasingly radical action against Israel, to the detriment of peace in the Middle East and community relations in the UK.
“The Left-wing and Islamist extremists the Government is trying to appease will never be satisfied, and no responsible government should bend to their demands.
“In the run up to the High Holy Days, placing this increased target on British Jews is deeply irresponsible.”
Not going down well in the States either…
Miliband’s sanctions in brief:
Burnham still hasn’t spoken to Netanyahu. And privately, British diplomats are trying to convince the US this package is nothing to worry about. Good luck with that…
Bloomberg reports British diplomats are privately reassuring the Trump administration that Ed Miliband’s impending trade sanctions on Israel will be “largely symbolic“, and in reality it should be business as usual between the two countries. Burnham and Miliband’s claims of a “fundamental reset” with Israel are designed to be heard by a domestic audience…
Burnham spoke to Trump by phone last night, where the PM warned him of the stunt. Miliband will announce the package – expected to be trade restrictions on agricultural products from West Bank settlements – in the Commons later today. He still hasn’t spoken to Netanyahu. Pat McFadden has already been on damage control duty this morning, insisting on Sky News that Israel is still “a really important trading partner” and the sanctions are about “keep[ing] the two-state solution alive“. ‘Just ignore the sanctions, we need to show some ankle to the left’…
Bookmark this from Andy Burnham:
2029: “that’s when the next election will be.”
May 2027: “Absolutely not.”
“No election any time soon.”
“All of this speculation on an early election, I can knock that dead.”